Newport Beach Mag February 5, 2016 : Page 1

A Glittering Reception for ABT’s ‘Nutcracker’ PAGE 10 | Charity Getting Jazzed for the Newport Jazz Party at the Marriott PAGE 14 | Calendar The Indy’s Guide to Valentine’s Dining in Newport Beach PAGE 16 | Stepping Out online at newportbeachindy.com Independent “For Locals, by Locals” February 5, 2016 | Volume VII, Issue 5 NEWPORT BEACH Lawsuit Alleges Hostile Work Environment at NMUSD By Sara Hall | NB Indy The public reacted strongly this week to the allegations of a hostile work environ-ment as described in a recent lawsuit against the Newport-Mesa Uniﬁ ed School District and Superintendent Fred Navarro. On social media, community mem-bers are calling the district troubled and dysfunctional. Most comments have been in support of the two former employees making the claims. The lawsuit causing the turmoil was ﬁ led Jan. 28 with Orange County Superior Court by former director of district com-munications Laura Boss and former assis-tant superintendent Ann Huntington. The two claim Navarro created a “culture of fear, intimidation, and retaliation” against them and other employees and a “toxic” and “intolerable” work environment. Boss and Huntington appreciate the public support but declined to comment, said William Crosby, the lawyer represent-ing them in the case. The district denied the claims in a pre-pared statement. “We are aware of the pending litigation, which has been referred to legal counsel to represent the district and Dr. Navarro. As this pending litigation, from two former employees, proceeds through the judi-cial system the District believes that the evidence and facts will show that these al-legations are unfounded,” wrote NMUSD spokeswoman Annette Franco in an email. Franco declined to comment further. Boss began working for NMUSD in 1999 as coordinator of administrative services. She was promoted to director of JIM COLLINS Lido Live ceased operations at the Lido Theater last December, and rumors abound about the theater’s fate. See Biz Buzz section on page 2 for details. Newport Man Sentenced for NSF Checks By NB Indy staff A Newport Beach man was sen-tenced Monday to seven years in prison for writing multiple bad checks totaling more than $200,000, the Orange Coun-ty District Attorney’s ofﬁ ce reported. Richard Scott Bloustine, 50, pleaded guilty to ﬁ ve felony counts of grand theft, 10 felony counts of writing a non-sufﬁ cient funds check, one felony count of unlawful taking of a vehicle, with sentencing enhancement allega-tions for aggravated white collar crime over $100,000 and property loss over Whistleblower Wins Sister City Docs Battle By Daniel Langhorne | NB Indy An Orange County Superior Court judge admonished the City of Newport Beach for driving a whistleblower to sue for the release of documents re-garding taxpayer-funded grants to the Newport Beach Sister City Association. Judge Linda Marks ruled last week that city ofﬁ cials should have provided Corona del Mar resident Kent Moore with all the documents responsive to a public records request, which would have averted more than a year of litiga-tion and about $400,000 in attorney fees to be paid by the city. “[I]’m just troubled about how this has all proceeded and the amount of money that has been expended,” Judge Marks said. “ Moore is a former vice president of the Newport Beach Sister City Associa-tion, a non-proﬁ t group that supports a student exchange program with Oka-zaki, Japan; Antibes, France; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Ensenada, Mexico. Moore left the organization after allegedly airing concerns about the authenticity of receipts, missing funds, and alcohol use during a 2010 trip to Antibes. “The newest members of the Council promised a new era of transparency and ﬁ scal accountability in the City,” INSURANCE FRAUD, Page 18 SISTER CITY, Page 18 NMUSD LAWSUIT, Page 18 luxury HOME OF CORONA DEL MAR 4607 Gorham Drive | $9,975,000 the week Download our to your smartphone for this week’s open houses or visit Surterr ePr operties.com 1400 Newport Center Drive | Suite 100 | Newport Beach, CA 92660 | 888.245.7179 APP